Government, opposition clash over hospital staff shortages

SASKATOON — The government and the Opposition continue their repetitive exchange on the province’s issue of healthcare, with Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill celebrating that an additional 40 beds have opened as part of their ongoing efforts to expand the acute care capacity in the hospital of Saskatchewan’s largest city.

Cockrill, in a media conference on Friday, Nov. 7, at the Saskatoon City Hospital, said that the 40 new acute care beds are the first phase of the government’s 109-bed expansion project aimed at relieving pressures on hospitals across the city, adding that this is a milestone and a significant step forward for patients and families struggling with long waits and overcrowded emergency departments.

He said they expect another 20 beds to open at City Hospital between March